A Yolo County sheriff's lieutenant and his wife, who owned the property where last summer's deadly fireworks explosion occurred in Esparto, have been arrested along with five others, and formal charges were set to be announced Friday.

Yolo County Sheriff's Lieutenant Sam Machado, 45, now faces seven counts of murder in connection with the July 1, 2025 explosion on his property, which housed operations for a company called Devastating Pyrotechnics. His wife, Tammy Machado, a sworn administrator in the sheriff's office, was also arrested, and her pending charges are not yet known, as KCRA reports.

Tammy Machado reportedly posted bail.

61-year-old Craig Cutright, a volunteer firefighter for the Esparto Fire District, was also arrested Thursday. He is listed as an employee of Devastating Pyrotechnics, and the owner of another company, Blackstar Fireworks, which also operated out of the Macados' property.

As we learned from a civil grand jury report two weeks ago, Tammy Machado inherited the property where the explosion occurred along with her sister. And their father, local farmer Jerry Matsumura, had established a tradition of seasonal fireworks sales from his barn that later grew into a larger business.

Also arrested Thursday was 48-year-old Kenneth Chee, who had been Matsumura's business partner when he was alive, and who became the owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics. Chee, who owned a residence in San Francisco as of last summer, was arrested in Florida and booked on seven counts of murder as well as conspiracy.

65-year-old Jack Lee, the longtime operations manager of the fireworks company, was also arrested and faces seven counts of murder.

Gary Young Chan Jr., 43, was arrested and is being held in Santa Clara County Jail. As KCRA reports, he was the federal license holder for Devastating Pyrotechnics.

And Ronald Botelho III, who was arrested in Del Norte County in mid-December on various fireworks charges, had new charges added this week, per KCRA.

The civil grand jury's investigation focused on whether misconduct had occurred among county officials, and their report found that multiple county officials had likely turned a blind eye for years to the illegal storage of professional grade fireworks at the Machados' property. While fireworks sales are illegal in Yolo County, the business was allowed to continue operating for years, selling fireworks to cities for Fourth of July festivities.

The report pointed out the clear conflict of interest with the Machados being employed by local law enforcement, and owning the property where illegal and unsafe activities were taking place.

There remain questions about the county board of supervisors and their potential negligence, but the board denied any wrongdoing following the release of the report.

Seven men were killed in the explosion and subsequent fire. They were Joel Jeremias Melendez, 28, of Sacramento; Jesus Manaces Ramos, 18, of San Pablo; Jhony Ernesto Ramos, 22, of San Pablo; Angel Mathew Voller, 18, of Stockton; Carlos Javier Rodriguez-Mora, 43, of San Andreas; Neil Justin Li, 41, of San Francisco; and Christopher Goltiao Bocog, 45, of San Francisco.

Cal Fire, which completed its own investigation into the explosion earlier this year, expressed support for the criminal probe.

"We are encouraged to see this case continue to proceed towards justice," said State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant in a statement. "We will remain engaged to support the Yolo County District Attorney's office as they bring this case to trial."

Berlant added, "As we approach the 4th of July, I must reiterate our zero tolerance towards illegal fireworks."

Previously: Civil Grand Jury Report Raises Questions About Yolo County Officials' Handling of Fireworks Facility